'Water running' video becomes a YouTube hit - but is it real? - PHOTO

The video shows Ulf Gartner and two friends sprinting on the surface of a lake but it is more an advertisement for shoes than a revelation. The film has had more than 3million hits on YouTube, with many viewers saying it is a publicity stunt and an advertisement for the footwear worn by the three runners.

In the video, Mr Gartner, Sebastian Vanderwerf and Miguel Delfortrie are seen taking up to nine or ten fast strides on their tiptoes before buckling into the water. Mr Gartner, 37, told Metro: ‘All throughout history people have been sceptical about progress.

‘Copernicus tried to convince people the Earth was round. Not everyone believed Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon.’

The trick was a ‘sewing machine’ – a skimming motion after a curved run-up, he added.

The trio came up with the idea of walking on water after getting ‘bored’ with extreme sports, said Mr Gartner. ‘We decided to chase after that epic goal and do what people have tried to do for centuries.

‘After seeing a lizard doing it, we realised we would find a way. It was an amazing experience – like nothing you have ever done before. ‘

However, he admitted the footage was ‘great publicity’ for shoe manufacturer Hi-Tec, which seems to use the video to promote a new brand of waterproof footwear.

The company said: ‘Hi-Tec Poland was contacted by these guys and has supplied a few pairs of shoes and some apparel as “sponsorship” for their crazy new sport.’ It added: ‘We do not recommend anyone to try walking on a liquid surface.’


/Metro.co.uk/

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